"Where
there are Muslims, there are problems." This alarmingly sweeping comment by the
New York Post best reflects the dilemma of the seven-million strong American
Muslim community which remains under
siege in the post-9/11 era.

The
New York Post comment came amid heated discussion and opposition to the
proposed Sheepshead Bay
(NY) Mosque. In a hard hitting article titled "New Yorkistan? Don't rule it
out!" Shavana Abruzzo wrote:

"There's no
denying the elephant in the room. Neither is there any rejoicing over the
mosques proposed for Sheepshead Bay, Staten Island
and Ground Zero because where there are mosques, there are Muslims, and where
there are Muslims, there are problems."

In the post-9/11 America,
it has become difficult to build new mosques or expand the existing places of
worship which became frequent target of hate attacks. Ironically, the Board of
Standards and Appeals on Nov 22, 2011 unanimously rejected opponents' biased
claims and gave approval of the mosque.

Like the
Sheepshead Bay Mosque controversy, the Muslims are currently facing another stormy
debate as known anti-Muslim bigots are calling advertisers to drop ads on The
Learning Channel's (TLC's) new reality eight-part series "All-American Muslim" which
depict five Lebanese American families in Dearborn, Michigan.

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Within days
of the show's premiere, the fear-mongering Islamphobia network complained the
show is actually propaganda that promotes a "submission to Islam through the
hijab" and "tries to make a religion which believes in world domination and the
inferiority of women, seem normal".

According
to the Islamophobes this constitutes "deception and obfuscation," an
"attempt to manipulate Americans", "propaganda", "cultural jihad"

The calls
for an advertiser boycott are coming from Internet hate sites like "Bare Naked
Islam," which recently featured a number of threats of violence targeting U.S. and
European mosques, and right-wing groups such as the Florida Family Association
and American Decency.

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Not surprisingly, infamous
Islamophobes Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer who influenced the Norway
terrorist attacks and right wing xenophobia, are part of this malicious campaign.
Pamela Geller, founder of the shrill Atlas Shrugs blog and co-founder with
blogger Robert Spencer of Stop Islamization of America, are claiming that the
show "is an attempt to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad".

Buckling to the pressure of
anti-Muslim bihots two advertisers -- Lowe and Kayak -- have pulled out their
ads.

Another
result of the negative campaign against "All-American Muslim" was a significant
rise in the number of discrimination complaints against Arabs and Muslims
during the month of December 2011. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC), which reported this increase, issued an advisory addressed to the
members of the Arab, Muslim, South Asian and Sikh American communities to take
precautionary measures during year end Holiday
season.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric by Republican presidential
hopefuls

In the post-9/11 America,
anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate has become commonplace and
increasingly acceptable in political and civic discourse. Anti-Islam and
anti-Muslim rhetoric or Islamophobia no longer
questioned, even by our elected representatives.

During 2011
there was phenomenal rise in anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric particularly by the Republican Party
politicians. As the 2012 election nears, some Republican presidential hopefuls
and congressional candidates have clearly opted to try to win votes by
denigrating Islam and disparaging Muslims.

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To borrow Wilfredo Amr Ruiz of Huffington Post, taking the lead in the anti-Muslim
frenzy is Herman Cain, who has consistently held a hostile discourse
on Islam, belittling almost anything or anyone resonating Muslim. Cain has also
affirmed that he wouldn't appoint Muslims to his cabinet and even suggested to
impose a loyalty test on any Muslim before allowing him to serve in his
administration. His anti-Muslim rhetoric returned recently when he expressed
that more than half of American Muslims are extremists based on a "trusted
adviser" who informed him so.

Another presidential candidate and for speaker, Newt Gingrich's stance on issues related to Islam and American Muslims has been scornful.
Falling victim to the Muslim hysteria on the debate on the Ground Zero Mosque,
Gingrich compared the Islamic Community Center project to building a Nazi
monument outside the Holocaust
Museum. He also said: "America is experiencing an Islamist
cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our
civilization."

Rick Santorum, another presidential hopeful,
has joined Gingrich's Islam-bashing team, expressing misleading comments on the
question of Sharia taking over the U.S. court system. On the most
recent debate Santorum was even more assertive on his opinion on Muslims. When
asked if he would support ethnic and religious profiling he replied: "The folks
who are most likely to be committing these crimes " obviously Muslims would be
someone you'd look at, absolutely."

Author and journalist.
Author of
Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality;
Islam in the Post-Cold War Era;
Islam & Modernism;
Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America.
Currently working as free lance journalist.
Executive Editor of American (more...)